Shloka 3
शल्य–युधिष्ठिरयुद्धप्रारम्भः
Commencement of the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel
राजा च पार्षतं विद्ध्वा शरै: पञठ्चभिराशुगै: । द्रोणहन्तारमुग्रेषुं पुनर्विव्याध सप्तभि:
rājā ca pārṣataṁ viddhvā śaraiḥ pañcabhir āśugaiḥ | droṇahantāram ugra-eṣuṁ punar vivyādha saptabhiḥ ||
三阇耶说道：那位国王（杜尤陀那）以五支疾箭射中普里沙塔之子德里什塔丢姆那，继而又以七箭再度贯穿那凶猛的弓手——弑杀德罗纳者。此景凸显战场暴力的无情升级：私怨与求胜之心一次次压倒克制。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare intensifies through repeated retaliation: once a foe is struck, the impulse is to strike again and harder. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring warning that anger, rivalry, and the thirst for victory can eclipse restraint and deepen collective ruin.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana first hits Dhṛṣṭadyumna (called ‘Pārṣata’) with five swift arrows, then wounds him again with seven more. Dhṛṣṭadyumna is identified pointedly as ‘Droṇahantā,’ the killer of Droṇa, marking him as a charged target in the battle.